Israel: Over 2,000 people practice social distancing during pro-democracy protest

Amid the coronavirus outbreak, over 2,000 people in Israel took part in ‘Black Flag’ protest on April 19 while practising social distancing and stood at least six feet apart. The images and videos from the protest at Tel Aviv have taken the internet by storm and most netizens have even compared the discipline of Israeli protesters, who kept COVID-19 guidelines in mind, with the ones taking place in America. The pro-democratic protests in the country were carried out against some of Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu's policies introduced at the time of pandemic to curb the spread. 

While the coronavirus infections in the country reach 13,491 with at least 172 fatalities, the protest reportedly included speeches from prominent lawmakers in Israel from the centre-left bloc such as Benny Gantz’s Kahol Lavan. The Yesh Atid Chairman, Yair Lapid reportedly said in his speech that ‘this is how Democracies die in the 21st century’. The ‘Black flag’ protests had apparently gained momentum in March when hundreds of people drove their cars to Jerusalem to protest against the anti-democratic measures taken by the government to stem the drastic spread to coronavirus. 

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Israel to begin lifting COVID-19 restrictions

Just before the ‘Black Flag’ protest, Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu had said that the precautionary measures that his government took to curb the further spread of coronavirus “have proven themselves”. Therefore, due to “positive results”, from April 19, they will begin to lift certain restrictions from the nation. According to Netanyahu, the ease of restrictions will include resuming work for some employees especially in manufacturing and service industries and opening certain stores. 

However, the citizens will still have to follow rules to curb the further spread of COVID-19 disease. The Israeli cabinet is yet to reveal their decision on Netanyahu’s recommendations. In the press conference, according to reports, Israeli President said that his nation’s mortality rates were among the lowest in the OIECD countries, while the testing numbers are among the highest.

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